• Home
  • About Me
  • Race Results
  • Videos
  • Pictures
  • Contact Me
  • 2019 Race Dates
  • Sponsors & Supporters

James Cater Racing

~ Realising the childhood dream…

James Cater Racing

Tag Archives: formula vee

Preparing to re-start and post-Covid fitness

08 Thursday Jul 2021

Posted by jamescaterracing in Fitness, Formula Vee, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

750 motor club, billy blanks, Birmingham Superprix, covid, CRPS Racing 4A Cure, formula vee, Heritage Parts Centre, iZone Driver Performance, lockdown, Primrose Hospice, race fitness, tae bo, training

The amazing thing is that this is where I had my first ever Formula Vee race back in 2015, and so will be a bit like a re-birth after my two year lay-off.

The Covid lockdown was tough for my fitness. Actually, that’s not entirely true – it’s been so damned long that I’ve put on weight, lost loads, then put on even more into the start of 2021.

More serious than that, was that my overall fitness was terrible. Working from home, rarely going out of the house, no gym, and with no real fitness routine, things had got pretty dire.

I started doing quick five to ten minute online workouts – mainly from Billy Blanks’ Tae Bo program. This was brilliant to get me moving again, and quick enough to fit in on a morning work break to get me away from staring at a PC all day. Highly recommended if you don’t think you can face full-on fitness malarkey (and if you can, he also has hour long, 5000 calorie killer workouts).

Tae Bo "I Like What You Do" (Part 2) - YouTube

There is a fitness program provided with the iZone Driver Performance Training, but that looked far too full-on, so I’ve saved them all to work through when I want something more hardcore. My main focus was to get back to the gym ASAP, which I finally got to do. Oh how I’ve missed that heavy bag for slamming in Thai-style elbows and shin kicks, rather than just filling my face with Thai Pla Sam Rod!

Other than working the bag, my two or three weekly sessions have been all about getting my aerobic fitness back up, and flexibility. I have a strong martial arts background so losing my flexibility for the first time since I was eight years old has really bugged me!

Lots of cross trainer, indoor cycling, rowing and pounding it out on the treadmill. I will switch my focus back to core strength by picking up my weights and going back to 100 squats per day and stuff.

iZone also helped with other things that are often overlooked, and I planned to change this year anyway: I barely used to drink liquids, but upped that to at least two litres per day. I switched to an ‘intermittent fasting’ diet (basically skipping breakfast and having two meals per day between 12pm and 9 in the evening – you just need to learn that feeling hungry doesn’t mean you have to eat). Kevin from iZone recommended healthier snacks that you might not expect – like greek yoghurt, peanut butter or cheese so that your body gets the fat it needs to think it’s full. And I always have a nut mix of almonds, Brazils and walnuts as they all give great nutrition.

This has all lead to me dropping a stone of weight I’d put on, but more importantly hasn’t been anything so extreme that I can’t easily sustain all the changes. It also means I’m not denying myself the odd takeaway or fried breakfast – hey, I still want to love food and this isn’t exactly Formula One!

All of this has also massively stabilised my blood sugars and generally seems to suit me. So that must be worth a few seconds a lap, right?

I have plans for a few other things to boost my performance when I get back on track – some of which I might tell you about in another blog, but possibly not all of it!

I hope you have all been keeping yourselves in shape – you never appreciate your fitness until you don’t have it any more. Go on – do a quick Tai Bo Body Blast and see how good it makes you feel!

We’re missing the first round!

16 Friday Apr 2021

Posted by jamescaterracing in Formula Vee, Racing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

2021 season, 750 motor club, Birmingham Superprix, CRPS Racing 4A Cure, formula vee, Heritage Parts Centre, Primrose Hospice

You may have noticed a distinct lack of, well, me, on the entry lists for Cadwell Park this weekend.

I can confirm that we won’t be there, this time.

Frustrating as it is, we have to remember that racing is only a hobby for me (unless there are any spare F1 or GT drives going?), and there are still some more important things in and around Racing Team Vee that we’re still in the process of sorting out before we can re-focus on racing.

I’m sure you will all understand that these are difficult times, but we do fully intend to be back as soon as possible!

Croft, next month? To be totally honest, it still seems a bit shakey, but if it is at all possible it’s a track I love so you can bet it’s still on the cards…

Good luck to all the Formula Vee drivers this weekend – you’ll see a few familiar faces returning to the grid along with some brand new to us. The races are being live streamed on video from the 750 Motor Club website, so be sure to take a look.

www.750mc.co.uk

Stay safe everyone, and have some great racing!

2021 Season Gets Green Light!

26 Friday Feb 2021

Posted by jamescaterracing in Formula Vee, Racing, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

2021 season, 750 motor club, Birmingham Superprix, calendar, CRPS Racing 4A Cure, formula vee, Heritage Parts Centre, iZone Driver Performance, Primrose Hospice, skip barber

Yes, folks – after sitting out the last two seasons, I’m back!

Driving for Racing Team Vee, and proudly supporting Primrose Hospice, The Birmingham Superprix project and CRPS Racing 4A Cure, I will return to racing in the 750 Motor Club Heritage Parts UK Formula Vee Championship.

I had been dubiously awaiting the latest Covid announcement, but Motorsport UK have give the go-ahead for club racing to start on 29 March 2021. Of course, this will always be subject to any further lockdowns or restrictions, but with the vaccine working its way through the general population I think we’re all feeling much more positive about where things are heading.

In my time off, you’ll probably be unsurprised to hear that I’ve still spent every day obsessed by racing, so although my seat time has suffered, I’ll be coming into this season more prepared than ever, and also much more hungry!

I have been sim racing lots using iRacing, especially driving the Skip Barber car which is probably the closest to a Formula Vee, and have a few more changes going on which should boost my performance.

You may have seen my name pop up on the list of iZone Performance drivers. This is something else that has been a huge change, as I have been active in their daily Zoom training in all aspect of improving my performance – physically, technically, and especially mentally. This training has been amazing, not just for racing, but for strength and motivation in everyday life through this pandemic. Go check them out!

The iZone coaches have also reinforced some realisations that I was slowly coming to myself about approaching things from a much stricter and more structured way, and I have a few more essential things to sort out for the next time I get back in the car.

It’s an exciting time, and you can of course expect blogs, videos and lots more from me and my social media accounts along the way. Feel free to contact me if you would like to get onboard as a sponsor or support me and the team in any way, or if you think I can help you or your brand.

And again, in case I don’t say it enough, if you’re reading this then thank you! I love your support and words of encouragement and am eternally grateful to have you all with me!

May be an image of text that says "CUNCE Ouulton 2021 PROVISIONAL CALENDAR 1&2 CADWELL PARK 17th APRIL 3&4 CROFT CIRCUIT 29th/30th MAY 5&6 ANGLESEY COASTAL 19th/20th JUNE 7&8 SNETTERTON 300 17th/18th JULY 9&10 & SILVERSTONE INT 7th AUGUST 11&12 BRANDS HATCH INDY 11th/12th SEPT 13&1 OULTON PARK INT 9th OCTOBER 750 MOTORCLUB FORMULA VEE เ7 HERITAGE PART CENTRE"

Calling it for 2020

27 Tuesday Oct 2020

Posted by jamescaterracing in Formula Vee, Racing, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

2020 season, 750 motor club, Birmingham Superprix, Covid-19, formula vee, motorsport uk, pandemic, plans, Primrose Hospice

I was hoping for a surprise end of year blog to say we’re getting out there for a race, but unfortunately that hasn’t happened.

Glenn and myself have decided to call time on the 2020 Formula Vee championship so that we can concentrate on other things and look towards racing in 2021.

It’s been a very weird year, to say the least, and I hope you are all safe and well?

Glenn has still been very busy this year caring for his brother and dealing with the day to day aspects of his business during the Covid-19 lockdown, and I’ve been kept busy working from home in my day job.

The Sheane is very close to ready, and just needs the engine to be put back together and a bit of paint on the nosecones to be raceworthy, so the plan was always to sit back and see what happened and maybe jump in to do the last rounds at Oulton and Donington.

Watching from afar, it seems like Motorsport UK and 750 Motor Club have done an amazing job getting things moving around the Covid restrictions whilst still keeping everyone safe. That has been great to see how the whole sport (and world?) can adapt so quickly to make the most of things.

It’s been great to see so many new names high up the leaderboard of the Vee races this season, and of course a well-earned (at last!) congratulations to James Harridge for winning the 2020 title already with an almost flawless 6 wins from 7 races in the home-built Maverick.

It’s been frustrating not to be out there racing, but Racing Team Vee are equally feeling the loss of the Formula Vee paddock family.

I will be carrying the Primrose Hospice and Birmingham Super Prix Project logos on the car, so am eager to get their names out there again for the great work they’re both doing and help build support.

We hope to see you all back out there for 2021, in a more normal world, and wish you all the best!

The Speed Of The Praga

04 Saturday Apr 2020

Posted by jamescaterracing in Products, Racing, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

comparison, downforce, drive, formula vee, motorsportdays live, praga r1, review, test, vr motorsport

Reading back through my blog about driving the Praga R1S, it strikes me that I missed some important stuff about the experience!

Part of the blame was that it hadn’t really sunk in, but part was also that the blog was already far too long to be adding more in.  So now, four months after I wrote this, and with zero motorsport happening around the world, I thought it might be a good time to post the blog!

I did a bit of research into the Praga before my drive, watching a few onboard videos and reading/watching reviews for the road version.

praga 4

A term that cropped up a few times was that the car is “motorcycle fast” – as in the way it moves is more like the sort of speed you get from riding a superbike than a car.

I’ve ridden sportsbikes almost every day of my life for the past 20 years, so I’m very used to 0-60 in under 3 seconds, 85mph in first gear, and top speeds approaching 200mph. That sort of performance literally gets me to the office (admittedly with a grin, most days), so it takes a lot to phase me. Plus throw in a bit of driving and instructing in supercars…

praga 3

The Praga R1 looks like an absolute beast, with wings and diffusers all over the place, and it’s a tiny car so you’re almost wearing it when you slide in through the window. And it’s clearly a very fast car around a race track.

To be honest, though, at no point did I ever find it intimidating. I’m not saying it felt slow (far from it!), but it was very… user friendly.

The cockpit is far more comfortable than you’d ever imagine from a very basic carbon fibre seat – if cradles you well, and there are headrests to help you cope with cornering if 3g’s gets too much for your neck to take. Everything in there is within easy reach, feels pretty natural, and visibility is much better than you’d think – a great testament to the designers.

praga 1

There was no speedometer, so I have no clue what speeds I was hitting, but can say that mashing the throttle didn’t elicit fear – in fact my heart rate monitor shows I only got up to 115bpm (in Formula Vee I’ll normally be around 130-140bpm in the wet and 140-160bpm in the dry). I should note here that I was in the normally aspirated R1S with about 260hp – the turbo powered R1T has around 460hp, so I’m sure that would pick up its petticoat and go a fair bit faster!

From the onboard video I’d seen from Donington, I noticed that the braking points were about the same as I’d use in the Vee, so used the same thinking for my Silverstone drive. I’ve got no doubt that the Praga was massively faster than the Vee, but it didn’t really feel it in terms of driving.

I was in 6th gear for a long time down the straight, so was seeing a bit of the top end, although I’m sure I’d be able to get another 20 seconds per lap out of the car with a bit more time to feel things out in the corners.

I mentioned that the mechanical grip in the corners was very good – the Praga feels and drives like a single seater. Very stiff but still compliant, and it just goes instantly wherever you want it to. Obviously it has much better, wider tyres than a Formula Vee, plus about 40 more years of suspension development. It soaks up all the bumps without ever getting skittish, and whilst it’s a bit of a cliché to say it felt like it was on rails, it was – except you could seemingly change the line at will, too.

Which brings me nicely onto the biggest unknown for me: downforce.

I don’t know what speed is needed for the diffuser and stuff to do their thing, so that may well still help in the slower corners, but then once the speed gets up things move from pure mechanical grip into the physics of downforce created by the wings etc.

Whilst I didn’t feel like The Hand Of God was pushing me down into the track, it was very clear that grip had increased – especially through Stowe and Abbey. Going through Farm in a Vee you’re pretty much hanging on and fighting the car drifting to the outside on the exit, but in the Praga it still felt like you could turn in hard and hug the inside curb.

praga 2

I’m sure you can dial out any smidgeon of under or oversteer quite easily in the car using set-up, but the impression I got was very neutral and balanced with maybe a slight hint of understeer.

It really is a beautiful car to drive on a track, and if I ever got the budget to race more than Vee, the Praga would be at the top of the list. I think it’s the kind of car that would teach you a huge amount because it just does everything – it’s a bit like a blank canvas inviting you to do what you want with it.

Whilst I’ve always loved ‘tin top’ cars, I’ve had the impression that they’re not as ‘pure’ as single-seaters.

Maybe that’s true for the GT cars, but the prototype-style racers are just a single seater with a roof – and driving the Praga showed me that it’s every bit as pure and exciting as a single seater.

And You get to stay dry.

A small Lottery win or a big promotion at work, and I will be having a serious chat with Vincent Randall again…

**As a bonus – check out the new liveries for whenever things get going again!
praga new

Markers vs Feel

01 Saturday Jun 2019

Posted by jamescaterracing in Formula Vee, karting, Racing, Technique, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

braking, feel, formula vee, karting, learning, markers, skills, turn in

It’s been a while since you got any of the mad ramblings that go on inside my head, so as I’m still totally obsessed every second of the day, here are some more random racing thoughts!

I have said before that I rely on markers to get me around a circuit.

That is to say, I will watch onboard videos and read circuit guides so that I have an idea that I need to brake at the “II” marker board and then turn in halfway down the entry curb, get on the power just before the apex curb, and then let it drift out to the 3rd red stripe on the exit curb etc.

brake turn

I will adjust the braking and turn-in points once I’m out there, depending on conditions, how the car feels and how brave I am, but for the most part it’s all “Point A to Point B” in my head out there.

But that’s not the only way…

I’ve asked other racers “Where are you braking?” – only to be met with a bit of a blank stare and confusion, before they admit that they don’t really know.

Whilst in racing terms, this answer normally means “I’m not telling you”, in this case it doesn’t, because these drivers do it all on ‘feel’.

This is still an alien concept to me, because even when I know a track and am just driving, I’m pretty sure I’m still subconsciously hitting those markers, because I certainly know about it if I’ve missed a braking point!

However, when I’m karting I do seem to drive most of the lap on feel rather than markers.

Now in theory, having a good feel (wha-hey!) should be faster, because you can always keep the car on the limit – but if you don’t have the natural talent to keep the car on the limit then you could be much slower because you’re braking far too early etc.

From karting sessions I am learning to feel the lateral g’s to know I should be able to carry more speed into a corner where my markers would tell me to brake, so it is slowly creeping into my collection of racing skills.

Doing it this way at my local karting track, I recently discovered that where I’d normally be braking and getting ready to turn, I can actually get back on the power before the corner and get around it.

Whilst skills aren’t always transferable from a kart to a Formula Vee, for me most of them are, as I’m still very much learning.

All I need now is to get back out there and see how I can make it work for me!

Do you race by feel or are you using markers? Or do you have another way?

kart

2018 Season Review

11 Tuesday Dec 2018

Posted by jamescaterracing in Formula Vee, Racing, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

2018, formula vee, Heritage Parts Centre, Primrose Hospice, review, season, UK

JonElsey750MC2018CroftFVee-1 a

My 2018 racing season in the Heritage Parts Centre UK Formula Vee championship certainly had some ups and downs.

From blowing the engine on my out lap at Castle Combe in qualifying, being involved in someone elses crash at Brands Hatch, overcoming engine problems to prove I can still drive at Croft, flying to Ireland with broken ribs and concussion (after a motorcycle accident) to challenge for a class win at Mondello Park, and then random problems which ultimately led to me not racing in the last round of the season and being left with two scrap engines.

It was a definite uphill struggle all year long, but sometimes I managed to see over that crest. Sometimes I got to taste that joy of both victory and the unbelievable exhilaration that only comes with motor racing.

I could focus on my engine problems and pure bad luck and frustration – or I can remember going for the class win at Mondello Park, wheel to wheel with Bill ‘Wom’ Garner in a titanic scrap on the final lap! Or the way I overcame serious power loss at Croft to lead B Class Championship winner Andrew Cooper in the opening laps and still hang onto him despite it being a very fast power circuit.

crash c

However frustrating things were, I’m still doing the thing I only ever daydreamed about as a kid, and to me, dropping back through the field at Silverstone with the engine dying but still fighting hard to stay ahead of the pack – that’s the sort of victory many will never be able to understand.

Despite missing 6 races and not finishing 1 – so half of the scheduled 14 – I somehow ended up 6th in class and 22nd overall. And more important than any stat is that I know that I have clearly improved and I’m a much faster and consistent driver and loving every second on and off the track!

If you were wondering where I was for Snetterton, basically the oil leak that stopped me doing the last race at Donington turned out to be an insert for an engine stud that had come out. As this meant we couldn’t use that engine case, we swapped all the internals into a spare case, only to find that case needs to be line bored as the main bearing was warped, and the barrels couldn’t be shimmed up evenly as that surface has warped, too. So whilst we have two scrap engines at present, we should be able to recover at least one.

IMG_20181006_135737
IMG_20181006_134338
IMG_20181006_114727

For 2019 I’ll be hitting the season at full blast after a few improvements to the car, and fully intend to win my class, as well as stick it in the overall top 10 on a regular basis as I push myself even harder.

It’s a roller-coaster of a ride, but what’s better than throwing both hands high in the air and yelling “faster!”?

Thanks for all of your support this year, and for reading my (sometimes very long) ramblings!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Special thanks:

Primrose Hospice for their amazing service, and allowing me to proudly carry their logo on my car and help their promotion.

Glenn Hay for heading up Racing Team Vee and for the use of the car.

My beautiful fiancé Julie for putting up with my sacrifices to go racing and my total obsession with it.

The Bromsgrove Standard and Craig Gibbons for publishing my race reports.

r2 pic 05

Irish Vee Festival – my view

18 Wednesday Jul 2018

Posted by jamescaterracing in Formula Vee, Racing, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

carnage, crash, formula vee, formula vee festival, irish festival, mondello park, race report, racing

Topgear ieThe format called for three heat races, with every car racing in two heats. Then a ‘Last Chance’ race before the fastest car gridded up for the Grand Final, which would decide if the UK or Irish cars were fastest from almost 50 total entries.

Festival Heat Race 1

There is a bit of a fear amongst the UK Vee racers that some of the Irish are more willing to ‘make contact’ on track. Having taken careful note of their steel wheels my plan before dropping the visor was to play it safe – as soon as my world turns blue irridium, it’s a different story, though!

Starting from a random tenth place, I made up four places before the first corner, and then to my dismay couldn’t get second gear again! I’d tested it on the short slow run to the holding area, but I guess race speeds changed things…

The UK cars definitely had the legs on the 1600cc Irish, but their cars pulled much better out of the corners. This made things very interesting, but without being able to get off the corners at all I was just a sitting duck as they all dived up the inside as I swung wide to keep the speed up.

I dropped steadily back down the order (picking up a few places as Stephen Morrin had a spin with another car getting caught up) until Bill Garner put in his inevitable appearance as we got a three car scrap on the go with Nicholas Mulhall.

With Bill getting bulked behind Mulhall on the start straight, I passed them both into the first turn, but then my tighter line meant the car wouldn’t pick up off cam. They both came past me as I hung onto the back of them.

Bill was in front going into the Esses but Mulhall went for the inside of the right hander, over the curbs in a move that was never going to be on, and tangled wheels with Bill.

bill crash 2

bill crash zoom

Bill’s car was catapulted up into the air, going almost totally engine over nose and actually having all four wheels off the track in that position momentarily. Somehow he slammed back down the right way up and I was left avoiding them both as Mulhall carried on.

I chased on, both of us putting a wheel off the track and almost heading into the pit wall, and then we weirdly took the chequered flag on the next lap as if we’d won!

With neither of us sure what had happened, we had a very awkward lap where I was sneakily trying to edge closer to Mulhall to take the place, and him realising exactly what I was doing and flooring it away until we got back around to take a definite flag!

That left me in 17th place of 22 runners, but I was really reaching the point of exhaustion by now. I guess not breathing properly was taking its toll…

Festival Heat Race 3

Starting from 16th in this one would make it all much tougher.

The first lap was all a bit rowdy, so I made sure I had space and found I had gears again but the positioning of the lever is very tricky to set up, and wasn’t quite at the sweet spot.

I got caught out behind a car that seemed to be blowing his engine, and hung out a little around Bridgestone, but was still in the mix.

Coming around the first turn I could see dust being kicked up, and then cars were sliding everywhere coming off the left flick onto the straight. The car to my left locked up and got dangerously close (I couldn’t see the huge oil slick at that point), but I had a much bigger concern.

Ahead were cars at all angles, sticking out of a Beano comic-style dust cloud that was across the track and grass from barrier to barrier.

I couldn’t slam my brakes on as I’d have been clattered from behind by everyone, and so stuck my right wheels off the track with left ones on it, guessing what might be a clear line through.

The dust was so thick I couldn’t even see my steering wheel, and then sudden;y there were stationary cars sat both sides of me but I’d made it through!

H3 James Foley 03

Fully expecting a red flag, or at least for the survivors around me to be a little more careful after making it through, I two corners away from the carnage, turning into the Esses, when a car slammed into the side of me.

h3 pic 001

Spun onto the grass, I wasn’t happy, keeping the car going and then weaving to make sure I had all my wheels on and nothing was going to fall off. I was dead last.

I came around to the scene of the carnage to see the dust cloud gone and red flags out, but what looked like a bunch of new cars involved. I couldn’t really work out what was going on, but one driver was out of his car and aiding another who was still in his broken wreck in the middle of the track.

H3 James Foley 02

I believe that no red flags were out as the field came around again, and not even an oil flag. The cars that had missed the accident hit the oil full speed and went off, hitting a few of the already stricken cars… Luckily no people were seriously hurt, but a good few cars were….

I’d been hit by Jack Byrne – who at least did come and apologise after. As he said he just lost the front and it wasn’t some mad dive I put it down to a ‘racing incident’ and let it go. But look at where he hit me!

IMG_20180708_133738

Could he have aimed for my ribs any better if he’d tried?!? Luckily the impact hadn’t rattled my rib cage and the trailing arm and my air duct had taken the full brunt rather than me.

And though I could have made the restart, the Last Chance, and the Grand Final, I chose to call it a day there. I’d survived without any more damage to my ribs and had pushed my body as far as I could.

It was a shame to have to cut the day early the discomfort was now overriding the fun for me, and I felt I’d more likely be a liability out there than taking the fight to the Irish.

Overall, it was a brilliant weekend at a a great little track that’s far more challenging than it looks. It was awesome meeting some of the Irish legends and the racers I’ve been reading about since before I started racing myself.

I’ll give the race winners and full accolades in my shorter race report on www.racingteamvee.com soon.

I hope I get to race there again some day, and it would be even better if I wasn’t chewing painkillers every few hours to try and get through it!

Massive thanks to all the Irish for having us, and to 750 Motor Club for giving us the opportunity.

Now I just have to get fit ready for Silverstone in August.

Thanks for reading!

h1 pic 003

Mondello Park Race 2 – my view

18 Wednesday Jul 2018

Posted by jamescaterracing in Formula Vee, Racing, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

formula vee, formula vee festival, gear problems, irish, mondello park, race report, racing, trophy

I was confident going into the second race, pretty sure I had more speed in me even as the day grew hotter.

I was still really learning the track as I went, and had noticed some of the Irish like Jimmy Furlong were taking were totally different in places to what any of us UK guys were doing.

r2 pic start

Race 2

I got away ok, but Steve Ough, two rows ahead had stalled on the grid. I had to make a split second decision and threaded the needle between him and the pit wall armco barrier on full throttle. It’s probably best not to think about how I actually made it – I guess I’ve filtered through tighter gaps on my bike, though!

I was right behind Sam Engineer and Rik Lanyi and held a tight line to follow Sam out of the hairpin.

My Class B rival, and the car leading that class (with James Harridge out with engine problems) was Bill Garner – and he was just up ahead.

For the first time ever I dropped to second gear for Bridgestone, hoping to get more pull up the steep exit and onto the next straight.

A few cars ran through the dust causing everyone to bunch up again as I caught Sam into the final turn, and Rik dived down the inside and didn’t have to drive up and down the grass bank, as if taunting me!

r2 pic 02

I suddenly had bigger problems, though, as I was in fourth gear instead of second, the engine chugging away off cam and me going nowhere as I fished around for second gear.

By the time I got any gear at all I was only half way down the pit straight and the entire field had passed me and gone through the first turn. When I finally got there it happened all over again, and I lost even more time trying to find gears…

OK, then.

r2 pic 05

I knew I still had power, and third gear worked. I could just about get around in third everywhere, so decided to attack the empty track and at least try and catch someone before the end of the race.

Unfortunately things got worse as I then lost fourth gear, and then couldn’t find third again. I pushed on trying not to change at all, knowing it was pretty much all over…

Surprisingly, I did catch Rik (who had managed to spin at the last turn!) and then caught and pass ed Dave Wallis, who was struggling with the track.

With Sam Engineer limping it home with engine problems I was catching him hand over fist, with Rik also looming in my mirrors – I took at pretty futile last corner dive at Sam but would have needed just one more corner to pick him off before the finish.

This left me in eleventh place overall, bagging another second in Class B – proving it pays to push on even if you have major problems!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I could see straight away that a nut had come loose on the gear shift assembly, so also knew it was an easy fix. I’d pushed my body about as hard as I could with the actual racing still not hurting my broken rib any more, but with constant pain from whatever I did I was starting to struggle.

However, with the gear problem fixable for the Irish Vee Festival races the next day, and having dropped my lap times by more than two seconds, I decided to enter. I was never going to win anything, but it would be good to put in an appearance to show my support for the Irish lads.

With us missing out on the free BBQ by working a bit late on the car, we headed to the local ‘chipper’ for a very tasty burger, back to see the auction raising around 7000 Euros for Laura Lynn Childrens Hospice, and a few pints with the drivers and crews.

Incidentally, the night before we’d been to the local pub and had some amazing food there, too along with lively banter with racers and locals. And found you CAN get six people into a Nissan Micra hire car if you use the boot.

I’d invested in an inflatable mattress for the night to try and support my ribs, but didn’t really sleep as the slightest movement left me wide awake in agony, but I got enough rest to think I’d be able to have a crack at the Festival…

bill cov 2

My View Of Croft – Race 2

08 Friday Jun 2018

Posted by jamescaterracing in Formula Vee, Racing, Technique, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

750 motor club, best, control, croft, driving, formula vee, Heritage Parts Centre, Primrose Hospice, race 2, race report, technique, tyres, UK

JonElsey750MC2018CroftFVee-1 a

Race 2

We all run Formula Vee with our ignition timing advanced. It’s a way to use all of the potential of higher octane fuels, and I’ve even heard some claim to be running more than 30 degrees advanced – but people in the paddock don’t always tell the truth for that kind of stuff, and even if they are doesn’t mean they’re sticking to the rules to be able to do that…

With the bodged-together engine since our old one died at Croft, we’ve been running less advance than normal. Using his vast experience, and with none of the right equipment, Glenn advanced us a degree or so to tap into a bit more bhp. Very risky, but I was getting slaughtered on the straights.

IMG_20180607_212733

The car balance had help up fine, but corner exit grip was a bit iffy in places. The near-bald right rear tyre wasn’t helping, so I dropped the pressure a little on the rear to see if I could get it to dig in a little more without just overheating. A rear anti-roll bar would have been useful here, as a few clicks harder would have been good, but I was reluctant to change our rear damper settings as I suspected it was more the bumps upsetting that aspect of the car, and other drivers were saying the same.

All this aside, I knew everyone else would have made improvements or just learned the track better, so they would all be putting faster lap times in, relatively (technically about a second slower than Saturday, because of the heat).

The lights went out.

My plan was to latch on to Ian Buxton a few rows directly in front of me, and though we both started quickly, by the time I snatched second gear his car was already picking up it’s petticoat and giving it legs over mine.

I’d blasted past Bill Stenning and had Andrew Cooper ahead for second in class B as my target, when Bill Garner appeared on my left.

race 2 003

I held the inside and let the brakes off to ease up to the inside of Cooper around Hawthorne. He had to concede my better line through the chicane, although it pushed me wide on the exit, where I found air under my right wheels at the end of the curb, before manhandling it all back onto the tarmac.

Watching Cooper in my mirrors, I hammered it into Tower but the tyres didn’t quite have the heat in them to grip. The rears lurched into oversteer mid-corner, which I collected with a flick of opposite lock but this meant I had to delay getting on the loud pedal.

Cooper got the run off the corner and just had his front wheels ahead as we turned into the Jim Clark Esses – normally taken flat out with only one line through.

Cooper was throwing up all kinds of dirt from his outside line, and with him still just ahead, to avoid disaster for the right hand exit, I had to ease off and let him through. I tried to fight back on the inside into Barcroft, but he closed the door.

All this had definitely slowed us down (I hadn’t even changed up to fourth gear!), but luckily Garner had stayed behind (probably expecting us to crash) and I got on the throttle early into Sunny In and let the car slide all the way around onto the next short straight.

I had one last snap at Coopers heels into the hairpin but then he was edging away and I just sat back and tried to see exactly what he was doing, so that I could try and copy it.

race 2 002

My car felt like I could do anything with it. I was getting pretty out of shape in places, but there was never a moment where I though I might lose it… where I wasn’t fully in control, really. Something had definitely clicked in my head and I think it has a lot to do with confidence.

Although losing Cooper, I was also steadily drawing away from Garner in my mirrors (with a flash of Jamie Harrison before he encountered problems), but wasn’t cruising to maintain the gap as I was enjoying it all too much.

I remember going into Sunny In far too quickly, still trail braking and clearly overcooking it all, and just planting the throttle to bring the rear around as I drifted up to the edge of the curb on the exit as if nothing had happened.

And of course there was lots of opposite lock as I tried to get whatever was left of the tyres to do something out of the hairpin.

I’d been noticing my pit board, for once, too – I think the first time was when Craig Bell must have spun off, and I caught him onto the pit straight. My board read ‘P10’ so I was chuffed with that, and gave Glenn, Mark and Michelle and thumbs up!

race 2 006

Suddenly the red flags were out as I came into the complex, and I dived into the pit lane pretty sure they wouldn’t bother restarting the race.

Sure enough, the marshals waved me down pit lane and through into the holding area. There was nobody here to stop me, and I was first off the track, so I was a bit paranoid about getting a penalty, but if the gates were all open and nobody was there, surely that couldn’t do me for it?

I rolled back happily to our awning before getting out to shake hands and chat to the other drivers. It’s nice to see the respect we all have for each other after the races, despite how hard we race.

Oh, and I had my first ever trip to a real life podium for coming third in Class B, with a great trophy! And 10th place overall gives me my best ever result to date (not counting non-championship results), and it was earned the hard way rather than through attrition of the front-runners.

There is still loads of work to do before we go international and head to Mondello Park in Ireland in July, and I’m a bit gutted that it’s so long away, as I feel like I’ve unlocked something in me as a driver. I need to get back out there right NOW and try it!

With time to work on the car and address some of our issues, it looks promising for the trip, though – and at last I’m back in the championship with a strong chance of racking up points!

Bring it on!

Croft Podium 2018

IMG_20180527_152952 c

← Older posts

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Pages

  • 2019 Race Dates
  • About Me
  • Contact Me
  • Pictures
  • Race Results
  • Sponsors & Supporters
  • Videos

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets
jamescaterracing

jamescaterracing

Racing in the UK Formula Vee championship.

View Full Profile →

Tags:

ARDS Test eracing Fitness Formula Vee karting Products Racing Rules & Regulations sponsorship Technique Uncategorized

Blogs I Follow

  • |Project-D_RS|
  • Gavin Fury
  • Blonde On A Boat
  • SoberPunks
  • Racing Team Vee
  • BooKs by cRaig loCk
  • Need a P-time or F-time job?
  • mikeoldknow
  • The Ali Lowe Commentary
  • The OkiNinjaKitty Blog

James Cater Racing on Facebook

James Cater Racing on Facebook

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

|Project-D_RS|

Personal blog for Davin Roberts Sturdivant

Gavin Fury

The Legend Of The Petrol Bastard

Blonde On A Boat

A girly and family themed nautical blog with money saving boating tips and ideas

SoberPunks

A sweary alcohol recovery blog written by a Yorkshireman

Racing Team Vee

Formula Vee Racing

BooKs by cRaig loCk

"The Writing Journey": The various books that Craig "felt inspired to write"

Need a P-time or F-time job?

mikeoldknow

A great WordPress.com site

The Ali Lowe Commentary

The view from the shed...

The OkiNinjaKitty Blog

Everything you want and need to know about life in Japan.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • James Cater Racing
    • Join 69 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • James Cater Racing
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...